Rabin’s Fascinating History in the Industry

Rabin is one of the few liquidation companies that can provide all of the resources you need whether it is a professional appraisal, to sell surplus equipment and machinery, or liquidate an entire business. As an international family-held industrial auction and real estate investment company in business for over 60 years, we have the size and financial ability to take on deals of any magnitude and of any complexity.  It is a fascinating story of how Rabin developed into one of the top auction and liquidation companies in the world.  

Shortly after serving in WWII and the Korean War, the Rabin brothers started a small business in the early 50’s selling war surplus through liquidations in their hometown of San Francisco.  By the end of the decade, Henry Rabin started his own business with a focus on liquidations. 

The 60’s presented an opportunity for the business to grow by holding several big auctions for companies in the mining business.  The Natomas Company was famous for extracting more than $100,000,000 of gold by hydraulic mining and the Golden Cycle Mining Company.  

The following decade brought the Rabin brothers back together to form Rabin Brothers Auctioneers in 1972.  One of the big accomplishments in 1975 was selling the Railway Express and their over 200 depots that required Rabin to stage and assemble 26 auctions in different locations across the U.S.  The 70’s also established Rabin as renowned experts in food service auctions with the Rheingold & Schaefer Brewing Companies auction.

By 1987, Rabin’s had its first airline auction with Braniff Airways and introduced the industry to theater-style auctions.  For the first time, buyers could view and bid on items while comfortably seated in a theater-like setting (in this case, out of the blazing sun). Shortly thereafter, all auction companies adopted this method.

In 1995, Rabin expanded operations internationally by opening an office in the United Kingdom.  Further expansion in 2003 included the Asia-Pacific with liquidation and auction of the Kraft chewing gum factory in China followed a few years later by an auction in the Middle East of the Tnuva Dairies, Israel’s largest food maker.  Please see our full history and timeline at the Rabin website. 

Rabin is an international company that specializes in creating liquidity for complex manufacturing facilities with idle or marginally productive assets.  Our operations include selling entire plants, multiple plant locations, or surplus individual items by auction or liquidation and much more. Please contact us to discover how we can help you with our professional asset liquidation process.